University of Kentucky UKnowledge Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection Lewis Honors College 2016 Role of the Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, in Inhibition of Sensory Neurite Regeneration Madison Klump University of Kentucky, [email protected] Umang Khandpur University of Kentucky, [email protected] Chris Calulot University of Kentucky, [email protected] Adrian Centers University of Kentucky, [email protected] Diane M. Snow University of Kentucky Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits oy u. Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/honprog Part of the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons, and the Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons Recommended Citation Klump, Madison; Khandpur, Umang; Calulot, Chris; Centers, Adrian; and Snow, Diane M., "Role of the Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, in Inhibition of Sensory Neurite Regeneration" (2016). Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection. 18. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/honprog/18 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Lewis Honors College at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Research article Role of the Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, in Inhibition of Sensory Neurite Regeneration M. Klump1, C.M. Calulot1, A.P Centers1, U. Khandpur1, and D. M. Snow1 The University of Kentucky, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center1, Lexington, KY 40536 Abbreviated Title: Role of Neurocan in Inhibition of Sensory Neurite Regeneration Pages: 13 Figures: 5 *Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Diane M. Snow, PhD Professor and Endowed Chair - Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology The University of Kentucky 741 S. Limestone St. Biomedical and Biological Sciences Research Building – B455 Lexington, KY 40536-0509 Phone: (859) 323 8168 FAX: (859) 257-5737 Email: [email protected] 1 Key Words: Astrocytes, Chick, Rat, TGF-β, Sensory Neuron, Co-Culture 2 Introduction In the adult mammalian brain and spinal cord, neuronal injury results in failed neurite regeneration, in part due to the up-regulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs).1,9 CSPGs are molecules consisting of a protein core with covalently bound glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), specifically, chondroitin sulfate side-chains. The majority of CSPGs produced after injury originate from reactive astrocytes found in the glial scar surrounding the injury site.1 Although this milieu is very complex and involves more than just CSPGs, axonal regrowth may be improved if the expression of specific, highly inhibitory CSPGs produced after injury were attenuated selectively.1 Specifically, the goal is to attenuate the inhibitory part of the CSPG, while minimizing interference with the beneficial components of the CSPG.2,7 Neurocan (Figure 1) is one type of CSPG that is upregulated after injury and inhibits neurite regeneration.1,7 The over-arching goal of this study was to determine the role of the CSPG, neurocan, in inhibition of sensory neurite regeneration. To determine this, chicken neurons were co-cultured with chicken astrocytes, focusing on two experimental protocols. First the conditions for growth of chick astrocytes were optimized, since previous studies used rat astrocytes and a variety of growth conditions. Second, a comparison was made of the response of sensory neurons in both the presence of astrocytes that express neurocan, and those in which neurocan was “knocked down” by shRNA transfection. In order to optimize the conditions for chick astrocyte growth, a series of preliminary tests was performed on chick astrocytes. Initially, to confirm the identity of the harvested cells as astrocytes. it was shown that the chick astrocytes express Glial 3 Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) in culture.10 GFAP recognizes reactive astrocytes, i.e. those that typically express CSPGs.10 Additionally, an experiment was performed to monitor the upregulation of CSPGs after treatment with Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β), previously shown to mimic injury in vitro in rat astrocytes3. Overall, preliminary co-culture studies with both chick and rat astrocytes suggest the “knockdown” of CSPGs may render astrocytes more permissive for axonal outgrowth, and potentially, a better substratum for regeneration following spinal cord injury. Methods Cell Culture: Circular glass coverslips (25mm) were prepared for tissue culture by incubation with 2 ml of 0.1mg/ml Poly-L-Ornithine (PLO) at 37°C for 10 min., a substratum that promotes neuron outgrowth in vivo.4 The coverslips were then washed 3x with sterile water and dried overnight. Astrocyte Preparation Embryonic chicken day 17-18 brains or post-natal rat day 1-2 brains were harvested and enzymatically dissociated. Cells were cultured for 24 hr. This conditioned media was supplemented with 50% fresh DMEM. Subsequent media changes (100% fresh media) were performed every 3 days, as necessary. At 75% confluency, cells were gently shaken on a Thermoscientific Shaker for 8 hr. followed by a final media change. The resulting pure population of astrocytes was cultured for 24 hr. and then split into separate culture flasks (1:4) for future use. 4 Preparation of Reactive Astrocytes Each well in a 24-well tissue culture plate was seeded with 18,000 astrocytes, the necessary number to reach 15-20% confluency within 2 days. The media was replaced with fresh media when the astrocytes reached 5-10% confluency. At 15-20% confluency, 5 ng/ml the growth factor, TGF-β, was added to each well to induce a chemical injury and promote a reactive astrocyte phenotype .3 Controls did not receive TGF-β. The TGF- β remained in the wells for 48 hr. (for the preliminary TGF-β test protocol, see “Cell Fixation”.) Transfection A dilution was performed for both neurocan shRNA #1 and Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) negative control. Neurocan #1 DNA (170μL at 0.89 mg/ml) was diluted in 1,515μL serum-free Astrofeed, and 153 μL of GFP negative control DNA (0.99 mg/ml) was diluted in 1,515 μL serum-free Astrofeed. Each individual dilution was then mixed separately with a dilution of 151.5 μL lipofectamine 2K in 1,515 μL serum-free Astrofeed and incubated at 37°C for 5 min. Neurocan shRNA #1/lipofectamine mixture (300μL) was added to 3 wells and 300 μL of the GFP negative control/lipofectamine mixture was added to a separate 3 wells for each trial. The cultures were incubated overnight at 37°C. 5 Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG; Sensory Neuron) Dissection Embryonic chicken day 8-10 dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRGs) were harvested and enzymatically dissociated. Neuronal populations were purified by a 3 hr panning step.8 DRGs (20,000) were then cultured for 24 hr with the transfected astrocytes at 37°C. Cell Fixation Cells were fixed with 2 ml/well 4% paraformaldehyde and 4% sucrose in 0.1M (1x) PBS for 10 min. at 37°C. Fixative was removed and the cells were washed 3x with 1x PBS. The cells were covered and stored at 4°C. Blocking, Antibody Incubation, & Mounting The cells were permeabilized for 10 min at room temperature with 0.25% Triton-X100 in 1x PBS, then blocked for 1 hr at 37°C in 1x 10% PBS/BSA. The cells were then incubated overnight at 4°C with 1° antibody diluted 1:4000 in 1x PBS/3% BSA. They were then washed 5x with 1x PBS for 5 min followed by incubation with the 2° antibody diluted 1:1000 in 1x PBS/3% BSA for 1-2 hr in the dark at 37° C. Cells were again washed 5x with 1x PBS for 5 min. The coverslips were then mounted with Fluromount- G, 2 coverslips/slide and dried for 2 days before visualization. For conditions using TGF- β to mimic injury in vitro, an anti-chondroitin sulfate antibody, CS-56, was used, followed by a donkey anti-mouse IgG Alexafluor 488 2° antibody. Reactive astrocytes were identified using an anti-GFAP 1° antibody and donkey anti-mouse IgG Alexafluor 488 2° antibody. Neurons in the co-culture were visualized using an anti-βIII-tubulin 1° antibody and donkey anti-rabbit IgG Alexafluor 555 2° antibody. 6 Results Rat and chicken astrocytes were cultured to 1) optimize growth conditions for chicken astrocytes, and 2) compare and contrast requirements for the culture and growth of chick astrocytes compared to rat, since previous studies relied solely on culture of rat astrocytes. However, in the present study, since chick neurons were the test cell type, it was deemed advantageous to perform the experiments with species-specific conditions. Both rat (Fig. 2A) and chick (Fig. 2B) cortical astrocytes expressed the marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein, or GFAP. This marker was used to identify reactive astrocytes in tissue culture. Importantly, the expression of GFAP, indicating that astrocytes are reactive, typically correlates with an upregulation of CSPGs.1 The test to monitor the upregulation of CSPGs after treatment with Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β), which mimics injury in vitro, demonstrated that chick astrocytes (Fig. 3) follow this pattern of injury in-vitro, similar to rat astrocytes (Fig. 4). Specifically, cortical rat and chick astrocytes were either treated or untreated with TGF-β. Immunoreactivity using antibody CS-56 indicated the expression and upregulation of CSPGs in the TGF-β treated neurons.3 Thus, as predicted, TGF- β mimicked injury in rat and chick astrocytes. Astrocytes treated with TGF-, like those in vivo following spinal cord injury, upregulate many CSPGs and are inhibitory to neuronal outgrowth in vitro. Given that TGF-β upregulated CSPGs in chick astrocytes, the next step for this study will be to repeat co-culture analyses using chick astrocytes with chick DRG neurons, according to the same protocol used previously for rat astrocytes.